>> Saturday, February 13, 2010

Our snow event has ended, and altogether, the system behaved as expected. The Triad itself got between 1" and 2" in most instances, with heavier amounts in southern sections. Troy reported 5." Amounts were lightest in the Virginia border counties.

Much of the Charlotte region received between 2-3" with heavier amounts occurring when you got further east and south.

Columbia, SC reported 7," and numerous spots up and down the Carolina coast received 3"-5"....very impressive.

Today, sunshine will help out with the road conditions, but it will be cold and breezy with highs in the upper 30s to around 40.

A frigid night is on tap tonight with lows in the lower 20s...maybe even some upper teens in spots. Any liquid remaining on the roads will quickly re-freeze, so watch out for slick spots on roads later tonight and tomorrow morning.

Our next system will roll in by Monday morning. At this point, that system looks like a rain and snow mixture....we will see.

>> Friday, February 12, 2010

All looks to be going along pretty well related to my thinking this morning. I have been debating upping my 1-3" area up to 2-4". I could go either way, and really, since I was kinda leaning toward a lot of 2-3" amounts anyway, either range would be OK.

So, since I don't like changing the forecast unless I have a compelling reason to do so, I will leave it at 1-3"....just know, that a lot of areas will likely wind up in the upper end of that range, and certainly some localized 4" or 5" amounts are possible if some nice snow banding sets up.

I also want to go ahead and include the Triad itself in the 1-3" area.

So, I will let the accumulation map from earlier ride on....just be aware that a lot of folks could be on the upper end of the ranges indicated, and the Triad can consider itself in the 1-3" area as well.

Take a look at this morning's video....a picture is worth a thousand words....

Snow will spread into the region late this afternoon and evening after clouds continue to thicken today. None of the snow in North Carolina will be overly heavy, but a lot of folks will likely see a period of light to moderate snow.

For the Charlotte area, snow should arrive later this afternoon and extend through much of this evening. For the Triad, a some flurries are possible later this afternoon with any accumulating snow likely occurring this evening.

The heaviest amounts of snow will occur from parts of Georgia into South Carolina and southeastern North Carolina. However, I do think a lot of folks along the I-85 corridor will pick up some accumulating snow...just keep in mind the farther south and east you are, the more snow you will likely see.

At the bottom of the post is the accumulation map I am going with on-air this morning. For the Charlotte region, I am going with a general 1-3" snow, but amounts could be higher once you head toward Rockingham.

For the Triad, accumulation look very light from I-40 and points north, but a dusting to an inch is possible. South of I-40, I have included in the 1-3" category.

For Raleigh, much the same as Charlotte....1-3" with higher amounts to the south.

Note the Outer Banks will likely see some snow accumulation, and some very nice accumulations look possible from around Wilmington down through the SC coast.

The weekend will be chilly and dry. Our next system arrives Monday and will likely involve some snow for parts of the region.

>> Thursday, February 11, 2010

The American models have consistently shifted the precip fields northward over the past 4-5 runs...something you had to imagine was a strong possibility based on the climatology this season thus far.

By the way, the DFW metroplex is really piling up the snow....they could top 10" tonight.

For this evening, I will stick with the idea I have out there of some minor accumulation being possible roughly from I-85 and points south and east in North Carolina. A nice snow event is on the way for much of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. North Carolina is tougher...but I do think some points could wind up with some accumulations.

I will cut a new video in the morning and have a full blog post for you...I will also put out any necessary accumulation maps tomorrow morning.

A snow event is on the way for the Deep South, and accumulating snow is likely from parts of Texas across much of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and into South Carolina. This is not a huge snow storm, but it is enough for accumulations in large portions of those states, and accumulating snow is always a big deal in the Deep South. The heavies amounts of snow will likely occur roughly from near I-20 to a bit north of I-10. The system could even end as some flakes in places like New Orleans and Biloxi.

For our area, today will be quiet and not nearly as windy as yesterday. Highs will be in the low to mid 40s with a good bit of sun.

Clouds will increase tomorrow as the next system approaches from the southwest. Snow will likely spread into Georgia and South Carolina by tomorrow afternoon, and accumulations are likely for places like Atlanta, Macon, and Columbia. Light snows could very well wind up pushing as far north as GSP, Charlotte, the southern Triad viewing area over to near Raleigh. However, that will be the northern fringes of the snow shield, and accumulations will be hard to come by. By the way, Wilmington and the Sandhills could get some light snow accumulations with this.

Behind the system, Saturday and Sunday will be chilly and quiet.

Another potent system dives in for Monday. This is a powerful 'clipper' type system. It is tough to get accumulating snows east of the mountains with clippers, but this one will be very strong, and if it can track far enough south, some snow is possible Monday across much of the region.

>> Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Wind is the weather word today. We will see sustained winds anywhere from 15-35mph with gusts in excess of 50mph for much of the day. This will be enough to topple some trees and power poles. Also, travel will be tricky at times not only for high profile vehicles, but for cars as well. Keep in mind, we are talking gusts here up to severe thunderstorm criteria....this is not your average windy day.

It will also be chilly with highs struggling toward the upper side of the 30s today...wind chill values in the 20s at best.

Look for sunshine today and tomorrow with highs tomorrow in the low to mid 40s.

The next southern stream system approaches Friday. I still think this will wind up being a decent snow event for places like Shreveport, Jackson, Birmingham, Atlanta, and Columbia. It gets trickier farther north into North Carolina. See the video for some details here.

I think there is a chance the light snow could extend up into the Charlotte region by Friday night. But again, the northward extent of the precip is the biggest question here.

A strong 'clipper' system will dive in by Sunday night and Monday morning...that one could produce a few snow flakes.

Below average temps look to remain in place for much of the rest of the month.

>> Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Our next system is pulling through the region today. This morning, a little light wintry precip is possible north of I-40 and northwest of I-85, but I don't foresee any big problems with that. The reason is the heavier precip will hold off until this afternoon, and by that time, the atmosphere will support mostly rain outside of the mountains.

So, look for rain at times this afternoon with highs in the mid to upper 30s for the Triad and around 40 for Charlotte.

Some moisture will linger tonight, and as temps drop overnight, that could lead to some areas of freezing drizzle that might slicken things up for the morning commute tomorrow.

The big weather story tomorrow will be wind. All the ingredients are there for a very windy day with winds out of the west and northwest gusting in excess of 40 or 45mph at times. Winds will be even higher in the mountains, and snow will fall in the High Country.

The next system will roll through the South Friday and Friday night. This looks like a suppressed system with the bulk of the precip likely staying south of North Carolina. However, that system does stand a chance of bringing snow to places like Jackson, Mississippi over through Birmingham and Montgomery to Atlanta and Columbia.

Things look fairly cold and dry through the weekend into next week. Some weak system could swing through at times, but the more significant southern branch systems will likely stay to our south for a while through the mid-month period.

I don't see an end in sight to the overall colder pattern over the eastern U.S.

>> Monday, February 08, 2010

Our active storm track continues, and our next system is causing snow this morning in parts of Arkansas and Tennessee. Ahead of the system, I expect a lot of clouds with highs in the low to mid 40s.

The precipitation could arrive as soon as the pre-dawn hours tomorrow, and if it does, it could initially be a little snow or sleet, especially north of I-40. However, the temps aloft warm quickly, and by daybreak or soon after tomorrow, the precip would be either rain or freezing rain.

For the Charlotte region, this looks like rain with temps above freezing, although in the 30s for much of the event.

For the Triad and point north and west, a period of freezing rain looks possible tomorrow morning before most spots should warm above freezing. I don't anticipate big problems with this, but we will watch it.

Wednesday looks sunny but very windy as a cold airmass blows in here. In fact, highs will likely struggle to make it into the lower 40s for much of the next week with lots of 20s for lows.

Our next potential system is Friday and Friday night. This one looks to bring parts of the Deep South some snow. However, most modeling keeps the system suppressed to the south of North Carolina. This will undoubtedly be a pretty far south-tracking system, but I do think there is some wiggle room for some slight shifting north. So, I am not ready to write this one off for NC just yet.